Fire loss estimates last night in the Cliffs

The Oconee fire chief quotes a contractor as saying the dollar loss to the house under construction last night in the Cliffs ranges from $2.5 to $2.75 million dollars, and that doesn’t include the fallout damage to a pair of adjoining homes. No one was hurt. Meantime, fire authorities are hoping the owners of the house construction project will be able to shed some light as to why the fire started. According to Charlie King, the Oconee fire chief, it was a major firefighting effort that started when Lake Keowee boaters spotted and reported flames on Knollwood Drive. At the time, the house was about 80% complete, and incoming residents of the new house had hoped to move by Christmas. Investigators were to return to the scene at daylight to meet with the contractor and the house owner as a way to further understand what may have happened and why.